Article:Get to Know the Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center’s Office of VSA and Accessibility and ArtsEdge are working in collaboration with the Temple University Program of Occupational Therapy, the Ivymount School and Programs and other special educators, experts, parents, and community representatives to develop this online pre-visit story tool. This site is designed to meet the needs of and to be accessible to individuals of all ages with varying disabilities.
Art Venues, Family

Arts Days:October 21, 1959: The Wright Man for the Job
When Solomon Guggenheim’s personal advisor approached architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a building to house Guggenheim’s art collection, he told Wright, “I need a fighter, a lover of space, an originator, a tester, and a wise man.” Wright was indeed the right man. It took 16 years to complete, but the result is one of New York’s signature buildings, an edifice as iconoclastic as the art it contains.

Wright rejected buildings’ traditional cubical shape; instead, he chose to mimic smooth, round forms of nature. The interior is no less revolutionary. Visitors ride elevators to the top floor, and from there descend a sloping ramp that lets viewers experience the artwork as one continuous series.
Architecture, Visual Arts, Innovators & Pioneers, Art Venues

Arts Days:October 22, 1883: For the Love of Music
Over a century ago, the Metropolitan Opera was housed in a building on Broadway at 39th Street in New York City. It was here that the first performance occurred—namely Faust, by Charles Gounod. The only reason a performance was made possible was all thanks to a group of wealthy New Yorkers with a passion for opera.

After being unable to purchase box seats for performances at the Academy of Music, they banded together to underwrite a brand new opera house. Initially, performers sang in Italian, later in German; fortunately, they agreed to stage operas in the works’ original languages during the 1895–96 season. Imagine hearing Aida in German! Today, the Metropolitan Opera presents over 200 performances each season, culled from a large repertoire, featuring the world’s most renowned vocal talents.
Art Venues, Opera, America

Arts Days:October 20, 1973: Architecture as Art
Think of a few of the world’s most iconic structures. What comes to mind? Probably buildings like the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and Big Ben. On this day in 1973, the Sydney Opera House was added to the list. As a symbol of Australia itself, the building resembles a huge white boat at full sail docked at the edge of the bustling Sydney Harbor.

That, in fact, was the image Danish architect Jorn Utzon had in mind when conceiving the design for this building that hosts a wide array of performing arts events, not just opera. Interestingly, the original “sail/roof” was beyond engineering capabilities at the time, and it took Utzon two years to solve design issues affecting the series of shell-shaped pieces.
Opera, Architecture, Art Venues

Arts Days:October 19, 1985: Movies Come Home
Cold out? Feeling lazy? Or is a trip to the movie theater simply too costly? The Blockbuster video-rental chain solved these problems for movie lovers when it opened the doors to its first store on this day in 1985. All of a sudden, instead of going out to a theater and paying for tickets and popcorn, you could spend a lot less money and watch movies from the comfort of your home, even dressed in your jammies.

All you had to do was visit your neighborhood Blockbuster, browse through hundreds of movie titles, and pick out which films to bring home. You could find everything from obscure documentaries to first-run hits. Blockbuster stores were an instant success and started popping up everywhere. The chain launched a whole new market for the film industry and changed the rules of movie-watching forever.
Innovators & Pioneers, Movies & Movie Stars, Television, Art Venues

Arts Days:September 20, 1946: Stars, Paparazzi, and Cinéma
For 12 days in May, this annual event, set in the luxurious seaside resort of Cannes, France, is a showcase for new movies. While it’s an opportunity to watch films and spot celebrities, the festival began for political reasons. In 1939, Jean Renoir's film The Grand Illusion was passed over at the Venice Film Festival; top honors went to films made by Germany's Ministry of Propaganda and by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's son.

French, British, and American filmmakers withdrew from the competition to protest what they considered an overtly political decision, and the French government agreed to underwrite the cost of a rival film festival that would be free of political bias. At Cannes, films have always been judged on their artistic merits alone.
Art Venues, Europe, Fashion, Movies & Movie Stars, Popular Culture

Arts Days:September 17, 1983: Make Me a Star Tonight
Searching for tomorrow’s superstar singers and dancers? Before there was American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, there was Star Search. Ordinary contestants sang, danced, and performed comedy skits on national TV, with judges and a studio audience voting for a winner.

Lots of artists who made it big competed on Star Search, including Christina Aguilera and Rosie O’Donnell. Interestingly, few of the actual winners are household names today. The original show ran until 1995. A new version launched in 2002, but lasted for only two years. American Idol, which also began in 2002, pretty much ate Star Search for lunch.
Art Venues, Comedy, Dance, Music, Popular Culture, Television, Young Artists

Arts Days:September 28, 1901: Talent Scout
Hard to believe but for more than three decades, Ed Sullivan's television variety show kept Americans entertained. Sullivan, a former sports reporter and radio announcer, became an emcee to vaudeville revues and charity events. Despite his famously wooden persona and uncomfortable on-camera appearance, Sullivan knew how to choose and showcase talent.

Until 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show provided a staging arena for entertainers of all stripes. Elvis made his hip-shaking debut in 1956; the Beatles’ 1964 appearances were some of television’s highest rated programs. The show was as likely to feature opera performances as it was rock and roll bands, and hosted many black performers, including Pearl Bailey, Diana Ross, and Louis Armstrong.
Art Venues, America, Television, Young Artists, Rock & Roll, Comedy, Dance, Theater, Music

Arts Days:September 27, 1983: One Singular Sensation
There are 17 of them up on the bare stage—chorus dancers, known as “gypsies” in musical theater lingo. They audition, then wait, wait some more…most are sent home empty-handed. This trying experience was captured by a young dancer/choreographer (and former gypsy) named Michael Bennett. Bennett took the audition process and added a slew of talented singer/dancer hopefuls and a fabulous score by Marvin Hamlisch.

The show’s minimal sets and costumes kept the audience’s focus right where it should be: on the singing and the dancing as each character sings and shares his or her story about how they wound up at the audition. Sometimes funny, always moving, the show’s cinema-like staging includes jumps from one character to another, stage dissolves, and close-ups.
Broadway, Musicals, Art Venues, Theater

Arts Days:September 02, 1995: Rock Solid
With exhibits looking at, say, the life and music of Elvis Presley or the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame aims to celebrate rock music in all its forms. Founded by Jann Wenner, longtime editor of Rolling Stone magazine, the site also collects and preserves rock music through its educational programs and archives.

For years before the actual museum existed, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation nominated musicians to be part of the Hall of Fame. One qualification: artists are only eligible for induction 26 years after their first recording. Those fortunate enough to be inducted have their names added to a spire inside the spectacular glass pyramid designed by architect I.M. Pei.
Art Venues, Rock & Roll, Popular Culture, Music, Architecture

Arts Days:September 08, 1971: America’s Home for the Arts
In 1958, President Eisenhower signed legislation to build a national cultural center in Washington, D.C. Yet in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Congress decided that the center would be a “living memorial” to our 35th president, who had worked tirelessly to elevate the role of the arts in America.

ARTSEDGE, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by David and Alice Rubenstein.

Additional support is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

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